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Dresbachian extinction event: 502 Ma: End-Botomian extinction event: 517 Ma: Precambrian: End-Ediacaran extinction: 542 Ma: Anoxic event [43] Great Oxygenation Event: 2400 Ma: Rising oxygen levels in the atmosphere due to the development of photosynthesis as well as possible Snowball Earth event. (see: Huronian glaciation.)
The Neoproterozoic Oxygenation Event (NOE), also called the Second Great Oxidation Event, was a geologic time interval between around 850 and 540 million years ago during the Neoproterozoic era, which saw a very significant increase in oxygen levels in Earth's atmosphere and oceans. [1]
The Earth will naturally become uninhabitable due to the Sun's stellar evolution, within about a billion years. [148] In around 1 billion years from now, the Sun's brightness may increase as a result of a shortage of hydrogen, and the heating of its outer layers may cause the Earth's oceans to evaporate, leaving only minor forms of life. [149]
Nuclear war is an often-predicted cause of the extinction of humankind. [1]Human extinction or omnicide is the hypothetical end of the human species, either by population decline due to extraneous natural causes, such as an asteroid impact or large-scale volcanism, or via anthropogenic destruction (self-extinction), for example by sub-replacement fertility.
The worst Phanerozoic event, the Permian–Triassic extinction, devastated life on Earth, killing over 90% of species. Life seemed to recover quickly after the P-T extinction, but this was mostly in the form of disaster taxa, such as the hardy Lystrosaurus. The most recent research indicates that the specialized animals that formed complex ...
An event that could cause human extinction or permanently and drastically curtail humanity's existence or potential is known as an "existential risk". [ 4 ] In the 21st century, a number of academic and non-profit organizations have been established to research global catastrophic and existential risks, formulate potential mitigation measures ...
Near-Earth supernovae have been speculated as possible drivers of mass extinctions due to their ability to cause ozone depletion. [102] A recent explanation suggests that a nearby supernova explosion was the cause for the specific Hangenberg event, which marks the boundary between the Devonian and Carboniferous periods. This could offer a ...
Nemesis is a hypothetical red dwarf [1] or brown dwarf, [2] originally postulated in 1984 [3] to be orbiting the Sun at a distance of about 95,000 AU (1.5 light-years), [2] somewhat beyond the Oort cloud, to explain a perceived cycle of mass extinctions in the geological record, which seem to occur more often at intervals of 26 million years.